Management Team

Andy Marsh joined Plug Power as President and CEO in April 2008. Mr. Marsh plans and directs all aspects of the organization’s policies and objectives. He is focused on building a company that continues to leverage Plug Power’s combination of technological expertise, talented people and focus on sales growth to position the Company as a leader in the future alternative energy economy.

Previously, Mr. Marsh was a co-founder of Valere Power, where he served as CEO and Board Member from the Company’s inception in 2001 through its sale to Eltek ASA in 2007. Under his leadership, Valere grew into a profitable global operation with over 200 employees and $90 million in revenues derived from the sale of DC power products to the telecommunications sector. During Mr. Marsh’s tenure, Valere Power received many awards such as the Tech Titan award as the fastest growing technology company in the Dallas Fort Worth area and the Red Herring Top 100 Innovator Award. Prior to founding Valere, he spent almost 18 years with Lucent Bell Laboratories in a variety of sales and technical management positions.

Mr. Marsh is a member of the Board of Directors for the California Hydrogen Business Council, a non- profit group comprised of organizations and individuals involved in the business of hydrogen. He holds an MSEE from Duke University and an MBA from SMU and a BSEET from Temple University.

Paul Middleton joined Plug Power as Chief Financial Officer in 2014, bringing a proven background in strategy, mergers and acquisitions, controls and risk management for manufacturing and technology companies.

Prior to Plug Power, Mr. Middleton worked at Rogers Corp., a global manufacturer and distributor of specialty polymer composite materials and components. During his tenure at Rogers, Mr. Middleton served in many senior financial leadership roles including Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, Treasure and Interim Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Rogers, Mr. Middleton managed all financial administration for the tools division of Cooper Industries.

Mr. Middleton holds a Master of Science in Accounting and a BBA from the University of Central Florida. Additionally, he is a Certified Public Accountant.

In 2021, Tim Cortes was promoted to Chief Technology Officer for Plug Power. His focus includes responsibility for the company’s long-term technology strategy and vision. Mr. Cortes works with the leadership team to develop technology roadmaps, design solutions and implement processes that make technology development a significant differentiator for Plug Power. He collaborates with industry leaders and assesses customer needs to ensure that the organization proactively anticipates, supports, and solves technical problems in support of customer issues. Additionally, Mr. Cortes identifies potential M&A opportunities that will drive the technology roadmaps as well as position Plug Power to vertically integrate in key component and subsystem elements.

Tim Cortes joined Plug Power Inc. as Vice President of Hydrogen Energy Systems in January of 2015. In this role, Mr. Cortes is responsible for overseeing the GenFuel business, including interactions with customers, partners and suppliers critical to increasing Plug Power’s growing market share within the hydrogen fuel industry.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Mr. Cortes served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Engineering at Smiths Power. In these positions, he was responsible for research and development, as well as solutions for global applications. During his tenure at Smiths Power, Mr. Cortes led product line expansion that resulted in a doubling of revenue growth in less than six years.

Mr. Cortes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University. Additionally, he holds several patents covering power system architecture.

Keith Schmid joined Plug Power Inc. as Chief Operating Officer in 2013, bringing more than 24 years of experience in the fields of industrial power systems and energy storage. Mr. Schmid is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the corporation.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Mr. Schmid served as President of SPS Solutions, a power solutions and energy storage consulting firm, from 2011 to 2013. Previously, Mr. Schmid served as CEO of Boston- Power Incorporated, a provider of large format lithium ion battery solutions, in 2011, and as President and CEO of Power Distribution Incorporated, a power distribution and protection company, from 2007 to 2010. Additionally, Mr. Schmid held the position of General Manager, Industrial Energy Division- Americas for Exide Technologies from 2001 to 2007.

Mr. Schmid holds an M.B.A and a Master of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Sanjay Shrestha joined Plug Power as Chief Strategy Officer in 2019. Prior to joining Plug Power, Mr. Shrestha served as the CIO of a global solar IPP and President Sky Capital Americas since 2015. Under his leadership, Sky Capital America built and acquired over 100MW of operating solar assets and secured pipeline over 100MW. He also sourced various types of financing solutions to support this growth including project debt, construction equity and long-term equity. He brings almost two decades of experience in the broader clean tech sector to our team. Before global solar IPP, he led the renewables investment banking effort at FBR Capital markets. During 2014, and under his leadership, the firm was ranked among the top renewable energy underwriters in the U.S.

Prior to joining FBR, Mr. Shrestha spent seven years as the global head of renewables research coverage at Lazard Capital Markets. During his tenure at Lazard Capital Markets, he was a member of the Institutional Investor All America Research team and was also ranked as one of the top five stock pickers on a global basis. Prior to Lazard Capital Markets, Mr. Shrestha spent seven years at First Albany Capital, where he built the firm’s renewables and industrial research practice. Starmine/Forbes Magazine ranked him the number 1 stock picker and the number 1 earnings estimator during his tenure at First Albany Capital. Mr. Shrestha serves as an independent director on the board of directors of Fusemachines, an AI company.

Preeti Pande joined Plug Power as its Chief Marketing Officer in 2021. As Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Pande will lead and facilitate growth and increased sales by developing a comprehensive marketing strategy that will promote brand recognition and transform the green energy market through Plug Power’s hydrogen solutions. As Plug Power continues to expand into new global markets, Ms. Pande will be instrumental in ensuring that its products and solutions are responsive to market needs, and in shaping the company’s role in the emerging $10T hydrogen economy.

Ms. Pande has extensive experience in the fuel cell industry, having previously served in roles both as Vice President of Product and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Bloom Energy. She was responsible for managing the product life cycle, and defining integrated product offerings and product roadmaps for the next generation of fuel cell technologies and energy solutions. She was also responsible for Bloom Energy’s entry into maritime transport markets.

Ms. Pande developed and launched multiple technology platforms across North America, Asia and Europe. Prior to her work at Bloom, Ms. Pande was Vice President of Business Development at Shocking Technologies. She also held senior positions in the semiconductor industry, as General Manager for the Advanced Test Solutions business Unit at Kulicke and Soffa, and as Senior Director of Product Marketing and Management at Asyst Technologies.

Ms. Pande holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from University of Arizona.

Jose Luis Crespo joined Plug Power Inc. as Vice President of Business Development and International Sales in 2014. He was promoted to Vice President of Global Sales in January of 2015. In this role, Mr. Crespo assumed all responsibilities for the global sales strategy, sales growth and market entry for Plug Power’s GenDrive and GenSure brands.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Mr. Crespo served as Vice President of International Value Stream at Smiths Power. He successfully brought together two international business divisions, including sales, manufacturing, and field support. Under his leadership, Smiths Power achieved combined sales of $14M in the first year after the acquisition.

Mr. Crespo holds an MBA in Global Management from the University of Phoenix and a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the Engineering University of Madrid, Spain.

Gerard Conway joined Plug Power as Associate General Counsel in 2000 and was promoted to General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in 2004. As General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, he is responsible for advising the Company on legal issues such as corporate law, securities, contracts, strategic alliances and intellectual property.

Mr. Conway also serves as Vice President of Governmental Affairs. In this role, he advocates on energy issues, policies, legislation and regulations on the state, federal, national and international levels on behalf of Plug Power and the alternative energy sector.

Prior to joining Plug Power, Mr. Conway spent four years as an Associate with Featherstonhaugh, Conway, Wiley & Clyne, LLP, where he concentrated in government relations, business and corporate law. Mr. Conway has more than 13 years of experience in general business, corporate real estate and government relations.

Mr. Conway holds a Juris Doctorate from the Boston University School of Law. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Colgate University.

Ole Hoefelmann joined Plug Power in 2021 as General Manager of the company’s Electrolyzer business. As general manager (GM), Mr. Hoefelmann will be responsible for the sales, product management, product development and business strategy of Plug Power’s PEM-electrolyzer offering. His executive experience and industry knowledge adds to Plug Power’s management team, further positioning Plug Power to scale the business.

Mr. Hoefelmann is an expert voice in the global hydrogen economy. His career includes an impressive 30-year tenure at Air Liquide S.A., with extensive international experience spanning the US, Korea, France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany. He notably served as CEO for Air Liquide in Iberia, COO Industrial Customers US, Chairman of Air Liquide Advanced Materials, CEO Advanced Technologies US, Vice President Hydrogen Energy Americas, and most recently Vice President Markets, Strategy, Innovation, Strategic Accounts, and Communication for the World Business Line Industrial Merchant.

In these roles, Mr. Hoefelmann led almost 3,000 employees, developed commercialization strategies to scale hydrogen fuel production from small to high-volume manufacturing, influenced safety education and protocol, and accelerated growth in new markets, including transportation. In fact, Mr. Hoefelmann created the Hydrogen Energy Americas organization with the purpose of developing a strong presence in the fuel cell energy transportation sector, resulting in Air Liquide announcing a hydrogen refueling network in collaboration with Toyota in the Northeast US. Additionally, the organization enabled the expansion of Air Liquide’s Hydrogen Fueling Network in California, highlighted by the investment in low carbon hydrogen production and distribution in Nevada.

Mr. Hoefelmann holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Master of Business Administration in International Business from St. Mary's College of California.

Tammy Kimble is a Human Resource leader with over 25 years of global experience as a business partner in multiple industries. She joined Plug Power as VP, Human Resources in 2019, having served SEFCU in a similar capacity since 2015. Ms. Kimble’s specialties include organizational development, coaching, staffing, benefits, compensation, HRIS, succession planning/talent planning, mergers & acquisitions, and organizational transitions. Her prior career experience includes executive leadership roles at such companies as Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials, Berkshire Bank, and a previous stint with Plug Power.

Ms. Kimble holds an MBA from Sage Graduate School (Concentration: Human Resources) as well as a BA from Siena College. She has served as an adjunct professor at The Sage Colleges, the Lally School of Business at RPI, and Siena College.

Chris Suriano joined Plug Power as Executive Vice President, Service in 2019, bringing more than 18 years of experience in the Power Generation Services business in a variety of technical, commercial, operational and P&L leadership roles. His most recent previous experience was as Region Director for Field Core, Inc., a GE company where he led the successful startup of a new Field Services organization in the Northern United States. Prior to Field Core, Mr. Suriano held multiple leadership positions with GE over the course of sixteen years with the company, including Service Director for Power Service, North Operations Leader for Power Generation Service, and Global Steam Turbine Leader for Power Generation Service.

Mr. Suriano earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College.